Capital

Capital was a three part adaptation of a satirical book by John Lanchester and adapted by Peter Bowker as a modern Dickensian satire looking at class, race, immigration, greed and a London neighbourhood in a background of rising house prices.

Petunia is at 84 Pepys Road and lived here all her life and seems to have come to grips with the cosmopolitan nature of her neighberhood. She has a grandson who seems to be some type of Banksy style street artist and her daughter comes to stay with her and she knows that value of her house. The Ahmed's are second generation children of Pakistani immigrants who want to foster good relations with their customers but one of the brother's is showing signs of radicalisation.

Roger is an investment banker with a big house, big extension and plans to do more work in the house and maybe get a house in the country with his big bonus. His wife already has made plans to spend the bonus. They have kids that go to private schools and eastern European child minders. The series seems to have few regrets about investment bankers who bought the country to its knees a few years earlier.

In among the mix are an asylum seeker embroiled with the appeals system, Polish builders making a nice living with the constant demands for refurbishment from good cheap labour and who all interact with each other. They all start to get threatening letters and emails. Someone wants what they have and police are called in to investigate.

The film is a gentle satire but I felt light on plot. Maybe it could had been done as a two hours film. We kind of guess the Ahmed's will end up in trouble with the police when that long lost friend came to crash in their house for a few days.

However it was worth just to see Toby Jones face when he got that much lower than expected bonus. Later on his account to his bosses as to whether they actually understand what these mathematical geniuses that they employ to do the trading is rather prescient

After watching the series, I thought the book was much better, there are lots of details that were (no doubt out of necessity) omitted in the series. John Lanchester is a very funny writer (if you haven't read Mr Phillips, it's a must!).

Nearly four decades ago ITV broadcast a serial THE CREZZ, set in and around a London street in which lives of different families interacted with one another. It wasn't really well received at that time, as its time-slot was shunted around from 9.00 p.m., to 10.30 p.m. and then to the graveyard slot in the afternoons.

Based on the best-selling satirical novel by John Lanchester, CAPITAL takes the same scenario and gives it a savage twist. The action takes place in an affluent suburb of southwest London, where house-prices increase monthly beyond the £2m. mark. The street's name is Pepys Road, a clever allusion to the seventeenth century diarist whose chronicles of central London offer a valuable window into the mores of the period. Euros Lyn's production achieves a similar effect for the modern era.

There are at least four intertwining stories centering mostly around the fact that most of the residents of Pepys Road keep receiving unpleasant missives based around the legend WE WANT WHAT YOU HAVE. This strategy might suggest some kind of terrorist campaign; and indeed the terrorist squad are involved, as they interview the innocent son of the Asian corner shop owner (Danny Ashok) on suspicion of subversive activity.

While Lyn's production works towards a satisfying plot-resolution, the chief focus of interest centers on the interaction between characters; the contrast, for instance, between long-standing resident Petunia (Gemma Jones) who has spent six decades in the same house; and Polish builder Bogdan (real name Zbigniew) (Radoslaw Kaim) who makes a highly lucrative living out of renovating the houses to destruction. Through such contrasts CAPITAL explores the inherent racism within urban society - even though people claim to be color-blind, and have "accepted" first or second generation immigrants such as Ahmet (Adeel Akhtar) and his family, they might not be so accommodating to Eastern Europeans.

We are also encouraged to reflect on the old adage of whether money lies at the root of all evil. Banker Roger (Toby Jones) seems respectable enough, but becomes highly disappointed when his annual bonus is £30K. rather than the expected £2m. When he loses his job he resembles the proverbial ship without a rudder. In such a money- conscious world, we wonder how people are actually going to survive, especially when they are so suspicious of outsiders.

This three-part adaptation comes to a resolution of sorts, with most of the characters looking forward to a brighter future; but the final shot of a close-up of another missive arriving through someone's postbox bearing the legend WE WANT WHAT YOU HAVE suggests otherwise. Rapacity and racism go hand in hand, and nothing can ever eradicate them.

Engagingly filmed with a series of establishing shots situating Pepys Road within the overall panorama of central London, interspersed with more intimate sequences based around the shot/two shot formula, CAPITAL is both vivid and pertinent.

I confess I missed the first few minutes of the first episode but I was hooked in a few minutes.

In all the houses are people whose stories are relateable but the acting, casting, script make it compelling. They could be clichés but are not.

Toby Jones is married to a woman he could only get because of his high salary. They have 2 small boys and both parents exhausted in their respective roles. (goof when his FT moves from his left to right)

Gemma Jones is a widow whose daughter and grandson would spend more time with her, if their own lives were not so geographically distant. Over time her relationship with both has petered off but Christmas is approaching.

Wunmi Mosaku? plays a very sympathetic Nigerian refugee. She does her best to keep her spirits up, despite the 'no-win' situation her character is in. The ever increasing property prices on the street have nothing to do with her.

A single guy is sharing a flat with a couple. Enough said.

A large Indian family run the corner shop.

When the postcards begin to come to each house saying 'We Want What you Have', some report it to the police. An officer calmly investigates what could be anything from a marketing prank to something scary and deals with everybody's assumptions about police prejudice.

It continues to escalate. Can't wait for Ep 2 !!!

A group of neighbours are perplexed when they receive cards, featuring the words 'we want what you have,' initially they treat them as a marketing plan, but events soon take a more serious twist.

It's a very unique drama, I can think of very few along the same lines, the closest thing that comes to mind, The Casual Vacancy, not they there isn't a story, there definitely is, but it's almost secondary to the wonderful character play.

Every single character is so rich, so well realised, so relevant, the stories have significance even a decade on, Quentina's in particular.

Hard to say what it is, it's a drama, it's a mystery, it's one of those that doesn't need to be classified, it's just such an absorbing watch.

The performances are terrific, you'll see so many well known faces, so much talent, Toby Jones, Rachel Stirling and Gemma Jones are awesome. I truly rated the performance of Radoslaw Kaim, Bogdan was a great character.

9/10.